Media

The sports highlight is extremely predictable by now: an amazing play, sequence or moment is replayed from one or more angles, while a news anchor or announcer recaps what happened. Sometimes the video runs along with its original play-by-play audio, or maybe with the live radio call.

But, in the age of social media permeation and mobile video proliferation, this is no longer enough, according to UNITE, a new late-night show that airs on ESPNU. The social media-heavy show has introduced a regular installment called "social highlights," which leverage just how much video modern fans shoot on their smartphones while at the game.

The idea is simple, but pretty powerful. Footage from commercial TV broadcasts and radio audio clips are edited together with video fans get from the stands and share to Twitter or YouTube. The result? Immersive highlights of major sports moments.

"We wanted to find a way to find a different side of what a highlight is, something you wouldn't normally see unless we aggregated the videos and put them with some high quality production," UNITE producer Yaron Deskalo told Mashable.

The example above shows the final outs of Seattle Mariner Felix Hernandez's perfect game in August. More recent examples include the controversial ending of the Packers-Seahawks NFL game in September and North Carolina State's last-second touchdown to beat Florida State last weekend.

Deskalo produced one similar video while working on an E:60 production for ESPN a couple years ago, which planted the seed for UNITE's social highlights. Today, however, there are few if any other examples of networks consistently producing installments that combine professionally edited broadcast highlights with fan-sourced video.

The social highlights air on UNITE weekly, then go up on YouTube if ESPNU has rights to the broadcast clips used. Some have even made their way on to ESPN and ESPN2. UNITE producers scour YouTube for fan video then incorporate between five and 10 into each highlight after obtaining permission from the amateur shooters.

While the resulting clips currently air primarily on a late-night show on a station that few but the most hardcore sports fans regularly watch, it's not hard to imagine similar highlight packages becoming more mainstream sooner than later.

"People are going to to able to film at these games more and more, and if we can find a way to get them to us, we'll be able to find new ways to tell these stories," Deskalo says. "We're not there just yet, but I think in the next couple years we'll start to see more social video elements in regular highlights."

Would you like to see this trend catch on — or do you prefer the traditional highlight format? Give us your take in the comments.

Tennessee Titan Jason McCourty and twin brother Devin of the New England Patriots are active and engaging on Twitter. They also share the same account (signing their posts either "J-Mac" or "D-Mac"), which makes their banter and updates all the more entertaining.

Bill Simmons has built up a massive and loyal following during his tenure as a columnist for ESPN. His feed is usually good for a few good chuckles, as well as links to his mammoth NFL columns and mailbags.

Jason McIntyre is purveyor of The Big Lead sports blog. The blog is a great source for analysis, player gossip and media news alike. Following McIntyre is a surefire way to stay up on the national NFL conversation.

If you take fantasy sports seriously, Rotoworld's football feed is a great way to gain an advantage over the rest of your league.

Get Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit

The Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.

A Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit

Mashable Media Summit 2011

Media Summit 2011

The Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.

Media Summit 2011

We had a packed house in attendance for this year's Media Summit.

The Future of Social Media

Pete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012.

Media Summit 2011

This year's Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City.

Social Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations

Mashable's community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD.

Teaching – and Learning From – The Old Grey Lady

Brian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit.

The Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation

Eli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms can work together to get users clicking on content that matters.

What Facebook's New Features Mean For Journalism

Adam Ostrow, executive editor and senior vice president of content, Mashable speaks with Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager of Facebook, about how the social network's new features can help journalists.

The Evolution of Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated Group editor, Terry McDonell, talks about the magazine's transition from print to digital with Mashable's Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff.

From Tactile to Mobile

Josh Koppel, co-founder and chief creative officer of ScrollMotion, speaks on the reinvention of content experience and engagement.

TV Makes You Smarter

Christy Tanner, TV Guide's general manager and executive vice president, explains how technology is changing entertainment for better and for worse.

TV Guide Audience

A member of the audience asks TVGuide general manager and EVP Christy Tanner about technology's changes to the entertainment industry.

Who Owns Your Identity?

Mashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites. Also on stage is Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity, and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post.

Who Owns Your Identity?

Mashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook; Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity; and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites.

Like A Virgin

Tor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen. Here he is at age 14.

Like A Virgin

Tor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen.

The Problem of Prediction

Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, discusses how real time data changes what you should be doing.

One on One

The New Model of Content and Commerce

Lauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe ; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.

The New Model of Content and Commerce

Lauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, Founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe ; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.

The Future of Social TV

Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.

The Future of Social TV

Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.

The Future of Social TV

Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.

Breaking Down Content Barriers

Michael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media talks about the rules of content that need to be changed for social media.

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